Lots of research done since my last post on B12, and things like mood, sleep, and energy levels are much better than they’ve been- probably ever! LOL, have to laugh… I found out that up to 40% of the population carries the MTFHR gene mutation, which causes our bodies to incorrectly produce an enzyme, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (or MTHFR for short), which works with the B-vitamins to process them so they can be used in essential chemical reactions such as energy metabolism. So, it is possible to have HIGH blood serum levels of B-vitamins (such as B12) but to have this genetic mutation where your body can’t use them properly! Hmmmm…. I know it sounds complicated because it is, and I wish I’d been able to finish school and all those organic chemistry classes I was taking right after I got Lyme. 😉 To keep it simple, I am sharing with you that I ordered a genetic test 2 days ago that was shipped today (YAY!!!!) for $99 from a website called 23andMe.com that should be able to tell me if I have the MTHFR gene mutation, and whether I have 1 (heterozygous) or 2 (both, homozygous) genes for it. This will be helpful in my quest to understand more about how B-vitamins and their real or functional (through this mutation) deficiency could be contributing to my struggle with Lyme.

This is the recommended B12 for MTHFR ***I no longer can recommend this product, edit 3/21/15, SEE NOTE***, Methyl-B12, and not the cyanocobalamin that I originally got (because methyl-B12 is the bioactive form, and the other is synthetic!). However at this point, I’m still taking the Solgar sublingual liquid (cyano-) when I first get up, and then one of the Jarrow Methyl B12 lozenges around lunch time, for now. I did order some methyl-folate (who knew folic acid was ALSO synthetic?!!!) which should be here, soon. So, just keeping you posted on what I’m learning, at basically real-time. This MTHFR business makes so much sense, given that it primarily affects BOTH body systems that Lyme affects the most (but they do affect more than just these two, of course)- the nervous and immune systems, and could weaken the immune system to be vulnerable to Lyme or any other opportunistic infection(s). I’ve heard about MTHFR before, but just recently with the elderly family member who is suffering from B12 deficiency, a genetic link seems possible and highly probable. Now is the time to study up and get tested, myself! For $99, it seems like such a good deal, compared to all the other basically useless testing I’ve gotten in the past (or expensive testing I just couldn’t afford- I can’t afford NOT to get this now, given what I know!). More info coming, but just wanted to share my journey, now, in case it can help anyone else, here. Praying for you all, God Bless!!! O:-)